The Wei family kept their eyes down and quietly tidied up their living quarters.
Seeing this, Lu Yuan was quite satisfied.
He thought to himself that if he were as clueless as that pregnant woman, he wouldn't even give face to the Yu family.
Lu Guoan came over, carrying two small cloth bags in his hands.
Lu Yuan explained the situation and then prepared to leave.
Unexpectedly, the pregnant woman suddenly appeared again.
"Hey, wait a minute, I see you have a lot of good stuff in your car, like kettles, washbasins, enamel mugs, towels, and a lot of malted milk powder, candy, biscuits, and other snacks. Could you lend us some?"
"What the heck?" Lu Yuan wondered if he had misheard.
Tang Fenglin touched her big belly and said, "Could you lend us some things first? You know we just arrived here and have nothing. We need your kettle, washbasin, towels and stuff. I'm pregnant now and need to supplement my nutrition. Malted milk candy would be great."
Lu Yuan was so angry he laughed; it was truly an eye-opener.
"Dream on! You've got no shame, you've drawn three noses on a piece of paper. Get lost! Don't talk to me again, and stay far away from me, or I'll definitely send you to a farm."
Tang Fenglin was furious that Lu Yuan was so disrespectful.
"If you don't want to lend it, then don't. Why are you cursing? Country folks are so uncouth."
Lu Guoan's face darkened. "Please straighten your attitude. This truck is full of supplies from the supply and marketing cooperative. You just ask for it. What, you've only just arrived in our brigade and you're already trying to seize collective property?"
The crime of misappropriating collective property is no small matter. Tang Fenglin was so frightened that he waved his hands repeatedly, "I didn't, I didn't know it was the supply and marketing cooperative's property, don't talk nonsense."
As he spoke, he ran towards their thatched hut.
Lu Yuan scoffed, turned around and said, "Uncle, I'll leave this place to you. I'll go to the supply and marketing cooperative first."
Lu Guoan waved his hand, "Go on, go on."
Just then, Yu Shaoheng ran over. He had received news of the people coming from the cowshed and wanted to see the Wei family and see if there was anything he could help with.
These are all my dad's classmates and family members, and they know each other, so I should take care of them.
“Wei…”
Just as he opened his mouth to call for help, Lu Yuan covered his mouth and dragged him directly into the car.
"Come on, follow me to the supply and marketing cooperative to unload the goods."
"Hey, hey, Brother Yuan, I have something to do."
"Alright, put yours aside for now. I really need to talk to you about something."
Upon hearing this, Yu Shaoheng believed it to be true and obediently got into the passenger seat.
"What's up, Brother Yuan?"
Lu Yuan drove the car away before saying, "You brat, don't you even know what's going on? The cowshed isn't just for the Wei family. What are you trying to do by openly recognizing them? Do you want people to know you're close to bad guys and then live in the cowshed with them too?"
"ah?"
Yu Shaoheng realized the truth too late and felt a lingering fear for a while.
He patted his chest and breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness you caught me, Brother Yuan."
Lu Yuan gave him a disgruntled look. "Don't come to the cowshed again. Even if you see them on the street, pretend you don't know them. Especially if you run into the other family in the cowshed, even if they try to talk to you, you can't talk to them. Do you understand?"
Given this guy's simple-minded nature, he'd probably be tricked into revealing information in no time.
If you frequently go to the cowshed, it's easy for others to notice your secret.
"I understand, Brother Yuan, but I can't just sit idly by and do nothing about Uncle Wei and the others' current situation," Yu Shaoheng said, looking very troubled.
"You should just sit idly by and do nothing."
"How can this be? This is so unethical."
Lu Yuan rolled his eyes and asked him, "Do you know why your dad only asked me to take care of the Wei family when he came over last time, but didn't tell you?"
Yu Shaoheng replied matter-of-factly, "Because I am his son, I don't need to explain."
Lu Yuan chuckled, "You're quite confident. Is it possible that Uncle Yu simply doesn't trust you and that's why he's afraid to tell you?"
"impossible."
He blurted it out firmly, but then his heart started pounding with anxiety.
Is it really that my dad doesn't trust me?
Thinking about how he almost did something stupid today, almost letting outsiders know that he was acquainted with 'bad elements', he immediately felt guilty again.
"Brother Yuan, I'll do as you say from now on and pretend I don't know Uncle Wei and the others. I'll leave them in your care."
"Don't worry, we won't let them starve or get sick."
As for suffering and hardship, there's nothing that can be done; you're bound to suffer.
Over here at the cowshed.
Lu Guoan briefly introduced himself and then said, "You all need to pack up today. Starting tomorrow, you'll be working in the fields to earn work points. Also, you need to take good care of the cattle in the cowshed. Make sure they're let out to eat every day, and don't let them get lost or sick. This is important collective property of the brigade, so you must keep it safe."
"As for your food rations, you'll have to make do with these cornbreads today. Tomorrow, when you earn work points in the fields, you can exchange them for grain at the brigade."
This is the rhythm of not earning work points and not getting food, because they were sent down to be reformed, which is very different from the educated youth. When the educated youth came, they were given food first, but these bad elements who were sent down were not given food.
It's already a favor if they're not dragged out and given a daily lecture; whether they live or die is entirely up to their own fate.
Giving them a few steamed buns was already a sign of the brigade leader's kindness.
Upon hearing that no grain would be lent, everyone was devastated.
They were sent down to the countryside, just like people in ancient times who were exiled after their homes were confiscated. They had nothing when they arrived, except for a few changes of clothes, let alone food.
"Understood, Captain. We'll go to work first thing tomorrow morning," Wei Fangxing said.
Jia Zhichao quickly added, "Captain, so are we."
Lu Guoan nodded slightly and handed the two small cloth bags in his hand to the two men.
Just as Jia Zhichao took the bag, Tang Fenglin snatched it away. Upon seeing that there were only five small steamed buns the size of a palm inside, he immediately cried out again.
"Why is there so little? It's not enough to share, and it's rock hard. How are we supposed to eat this?"
Lu Guoan said with a stern face, "If you can't eat it, give it back to me. The brigade wasn't supposed to provide rations today, but I gave you a few cornbreads out of my own pocket because I saw you had no rations. And you're complaining about it?"
Upon hearing this, Tang Fenglin immediately covered the bag and said sullenly, "I didn't say I didn't want it."
Lu Guoan glared at her. "Of all these people, you're the most restless. Don't take advantage of being pregnant to cause trouble. If you don't reform yourself here, even pregnant women will be sent to the farm."
Tang Fenglin was so frightened that she hid behind her man, shrinking her neck and not daring to make a sound.
When Wei Fangxing heard that the cornbread was given to him by Lu Guoan himself, he quickly thanked him, "Thank you, Captain."
Lu Guoan glanced at him, his expression softening considerably.
"As long as you behave yourselves and don't cause any trouble, we won't make things difficult for you. But..."
He turned his gaze to Tang Fenglin, "But if anyone is unruly, I will have someone take them to the brigade headquarters every day for ideological education and criticism."
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